Submarine boat.



L. Y. SPEAR.

SUBMARINE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 23. 1915.

Patented Sept. 14, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVE/l/TOR ,4 TTORNEYS.

L. Y. SPEAR.

-,SUBMAR[NE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED APR.23.1915.

I atentedSept. 14, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

W m w l/VVE/IITOR ria area are ribv LAWRENCE Y. SPEAK, F GROTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T O ELECTRIC BOA? COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SUBMARINE Boar.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LAwRuNoE Y. SPEAK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Groton, county of New London, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in Submarine I Boats; and I do hereby declare the follow- 'ing to be a full, clear, and'exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the construction of submarine boats of the type in which a section of the hull of the boat consists of a strong inner hull capable of withstanding the pressures of deep submergence and a relatively weak outer hull not capable of withstanding the pressures-of deep submergence,

the two hulls providing space between them which may be utilized for the ballast tanks of the boat.

When a submarine boat is submerged to a substantial depth, the hull of the boat is subjected to a pressure of considerable magnitude, but, when the boat is so submerged,

the ballast tanks are full of water and the pressure upon the sides of the outer Wall of the ballast tanks is equalized. Because of this, it is possible to effect a substantial economy in the construction of a submarine boat by providing a double hull construction consisting of a strong inner hull and a relatively weak outer hull, the inter-hull space being utilized for ballast tanks which are completely filled when the boat is submerged.

One feature of the present invention relates to the construction and location of the fuel tank of a submarine boat of this double hull construction. Such a submarine boat is usually propelled by one or more internal combustion engines of the type employing a liquid hydrocarbon as the fuel, such, for instance, as heavy slow-burning oil. In operation, the engine and the supporting structure on which it is mountedare subjected to continual vibration which imposes severe strains upon the supporting devices and if a tank subjected to high pressures were located directly below the engine, the operation of the engine would be apt to loosen the fasteningsof parts of the tank structure to such extent as to cause leaka e from the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 14, 1915', Application filed April 23, 1915. Serial No. 23,304,

der the engine, there would be dangen'of leakage from this tank to the interior'of the boat, resulting from loosening'of the plates of the tank by the vibration of the engine.

To eliminate this danger, I locate the tank for the fuel for the engine directly below the engine, and, the engine being in the portion of the the boat which is of the ,double hull construction, this tank is located in the i i-I l.

ter-h'ull space. This tank, however, is not full at all times and therefore it must be ca v pable of withstanding the pressure of deep" submergence. For this reason, the tank," while being located in" the double hull section of the boat, has its outer walls made of I plating which is of a strength sufficient to withstand the pressure of deep submergence. This feature of the invention thereforelin volves the provision of a submarine boat having a section of its hull of double hull construction, a propelling engine mounted within the section of the boat which is of the double hull construction and a fuel tank 10- cated directly below the engine in the interhull space andhaving its bottom wall strong enough to withstand the pressure of deep?- submergence, this bottom wall being preferrl ably a portion of the outer hull which, over.

the area constituting the bottom of the fuel portions of the outer hull of the which tank-is not filled with water at all a times when the boat is submerged and which.

is therefore made from relatively strong plating so that it will be capable of withstanding the pressure of submergence. l[nboats of this character as heretofore made it has been usual to place thetanks which arenot completely filled when the boat is sub- 'merged, within the strong inner hull of the boat. I have found that in some cases it is desirable to place one or more of the tanks other than the ballast tanks in the inter-hull space. For instance, ifa boat is to be 021- pable of use in waters varying in their spe cific gravity over a wide ran e, such as a boat which is to be used in 0th salt and fresh water, the adjusting tanks for adjusting the amount ofthe reserve buoyancy of the boat musthave considerable capaeityand the construction of the boat may be such as tomake it highly desirable to place this adjusting tank in the inter-hull space. Such an adjusting tank is never or seldom completely filled and if it beplaced in the interhull space, its walls must be made from plating of'such strength as will be capable of withstanding the pressures of deep submergence. This feature of the invention therefore involves the provision of a sub- .marine boat having a section of its hull of double hull construction and a tank which is not completely filled when in use, which is located in the inter-hull space and whose outer walls are made of relatively strong plating; preferably the outer wall of this tank forms part of the outer hull of the boat,

tical section of the boat; Figs. 2 and 4 to:

gether constitute a horizontal section of the boat; and Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are transverse sections on lines 55, 6-6, 7-Z and 88 of Figs. 1 and 3.

" double hull construction, that,is, the type in Referring to these drawings, a submarine boat is illustrated of the type employing a which a section of the boat consists of a relatively strong inner hull and surrounding this a relatively weak outer hull, the space between the two hulls being utilized for the ballast tanks to which water is admitted to cause the submersion of the boat. Preferably, the double hull construction embraces only the central section of the boat and forward and aft of this section are sections of single hull construction. The portions of the boat at the extreme bow and stern are not v of a shape which permits of making them readily of a strength required to withstand .the pressure of deep submergence so the ex- 'treme ends of the boat are preferably of a --lightconstruction and are arranged to be completely filled with water when the boat is submerged. The bow section of the boat is'shown at 9, thissection being of relatively weak construction 'and adapted to be filled with water when the boat is submerged. At

'the rear end of this section is a bulkread 10,

which .is at. the forward end of the section of the hull which is of the strong construction, Within this section are bulk-heads 11 forming tanks, such as the forward trimj ming. tank and the torpedo compensating t'ank- Also, torpedo tubes 12 may be provided extending through thes'ebulk-heads to the exterior ofthe' hull of the ,boat. The

after portion ofi'this section of single hull construction provides space for the storage of spare torpedoes and for the manipulation of the firing mechanism. hull terminates at the bulk-head 13, which is at the forward end of the central section of the boat, which section is of the double hull construction. Throughout this section of the boat, the hull consists of a strong inner hull 14 and an outer hull 15 made of lighter plating, that is, plating which is not of sufficient strength to withstand the pressure of deep submergenee. Between the inner and outer hulls, a plurality of, cradle plates may be provided at intervals to stiffen the construction, these plates not being shown in the drawings for the sake of clearness. In the construction illustrated, the single hull construction is extended beyond the bulk-head 13 at the bottom of. the boat so as to provide space open to the interior of the boat for the storage of the air flasks 16, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The heavy plating of the forward section of the boat is continued back under the chamber for the air flasks to form the bottom of that chamber and the sides 17 of the chamber, lying within the outer hull of the boat, are also made of the relatively heavy plating. The spaces at the sides of this chamber form part of the inter-hull space and their outer walls are made of the il'elatively light plating, as is indicated in u i l This section of the lift of the chamber for the air flasks, the

inner strong hull is preferably of cylindrical shape, except that at the bottom it is interrupted by a box-like structure 18. This structure 18 receives the storage batteries 10 and a portion of it may be utilized for certain of the tanks 20, which are not completely filledwhen the boat is submerged. The outer hull of this section of the boat is made of relatively light plating not adapted to withstand the pressure of deep submergence, as is indicated in Fig. 5. The space 21 between the two hulls is utilized for the ballast tanks which are completely filled when the boat is submerged.

In the boat illustrated, the adjusting tank by which the reserve buoyancy is established at the desired point, is of large capacity and it is therefore located in theinter-hull space since the construction of the boat is such as to permit of utilizing a portion of this interhull space for a purpose other than for the ballast tanks. This adjusting tank, however, is not completely filled at all times when the boat is submerged and its outer walls must therefore be capable of withstanding the high pressures incident to submergence. This tank is therefore formed by dividing ofi a section of the inter-hull space and male ing the outer wall and the two end walls of the tank of the relatively strong plating emp'loyed in the inner strong hull of the boat. This construction is indicated in Fig. 8

where the space 22 constitutes the adjusting tank of the boat and, as is indicated in Fig. 8, the outer Wall 23 of this adjusting tank is madeof heavy plating like that em ployed in the inner strong hull of the boat.

The central section of double hull construction terminates at the bulk-head 24. The propelling engines 25 of the boat are located Within this section of double hull construction, these being connected to the propeller shafts 26 havin propellers mounted on their rear ends. *lectric motors 27 are provided for driving the propeller shafts in the usualmanner when the boat is submerged. When the engines 25 are in operation, the vibration thereol imposes severe strainsupon the supporting devices of the engines and there is always danger that these strains will result in loosening portions of the hull plating directly underlying the engines. If the portion of the inter-hull space directly under the engines were utilizedfor a ballast tank, such loosening of the hull plating directly under the engines would result in leakage of the water in the ballast tank which is under high pressure, into the interior of the boat. lherefore, the inter-hull space directly under the engines is not employed for a ballast tank, but instead is utilized for the fuel tank in which the liquid fuel for use in the engines is stored. But since this fuel tank is not completely filled at all times when the boat is submerged, its outer walls are made of heavy plating capable of withstanding the pressure of submergence. This construction is shown in Figs. 3 and 7 Where the space 28 directly under the engines constitutes the fuel tank. The bottom wall of this tank is a continuation of the outer hull 15 of the central section of the boat but it is not made of the relatively light plating employed in the outer hull 15; instead, it is made of relatively heavy plating such as that employed in th e inner strong hull 1?", as is indicated in Fig. 7. The ballast tanks are extended aft beyond the engines 25 at the sides of those engines as is illustrated at 29 in Fig. 7, but the outer walls of these portions of the ballast tanks are made of light plating as is indicated, since these Walls are not subjected to the pressures of submergence. Beyond the bulkhead 2+. is a section of single hull construction extending aft to a bulkhead which divides oil the extreme stern of the boat. This portion of the hull at the extreme stern, not being made of a shape which lends itself to the provision of adequate strength, is made of plating and is adapted boat is submerged.

What ll claim is:

1. A submarine boat having a stronginner hull and a relatively Weak outer hull providing space. between them which is utilized to be filled when the relatively light I directly viding space between them which is utilized for ballast tanks, a propelling engine mounted within the strong hull of the portion of the boat which is of the double hull con struction, propelling devices for the boat actuated by the engine and a tank for the storage of liquid fuel for the engine located, directly below the engine in the inter-hull space, the plating forming the outer walls of'the tank being of a strength suflicient to withstand the pressure of deep submergence; substantially as described.

3. A submarine boat having a strong inner hull and a relatively weak outer hull providing space between them which is utilized for ballast tanks, a propelling engine located in the portion of the boat which is of the double hull construction, propelling devices for the boat actuated by the'engine and a tank for liquid fuel :For the engine located directly below the engine, the bottom. Wall of the tank forming part of the outer hull of the boat and being of a strength sullicient to withstand the pressure of deep submergence; substantially as described.

4. A submarine boat havinga strong inner hull and a relatively weak outer hull pro-- viding an inter-hull space for ballast tanks, a propelling engine located in the portion of the boat which is of the double hull construction, propelling devices for the boat actuated by the engine, and a tank for liquid fuel for the engine located directly below the engine, the bottom Wall of the tank forming part of the outer hull of the boat and being of a strength s'ufiicient to withstand the pressure of deep submergcncc, said intcr-hull space being extended aft of the engine on both sides thereofj substantially as described.

5. A. submarine boat having a central section consisting of a strong inner hull. and a relatively weak outer hull providing an inter-hull space for ballast tanks, and a tank located in the inter-hull space having its outer wall and the portions of its end Walls exterior to the inner hull jinade of strong plating capable of withstanding the pres sures of deep submergence; substantially as described.

(1A submarine boat having a section thereof formed of a strong inner hull and a relatively weak outer hull providing an inter-hull space for ballast tanks, and parv titions dividing off a portion of the interhull space to form a tank, the portion of the outer hull forming the outer wall of said .tank, and said partitions being so constructed as to be of a strength adapted to withstand the pressure of deep submergence;

tion of double hull construction consisting of a strong inner hull and a relatively weak outer hull, sections forward and aft of the central section of single hull construction, a propelling engine located within the central section, and a tank the engine located in the space between the inner and outer hulls and having the walls thereof exterior to the inner hull of strong construction capable of withstanding the pressure of deep submergence; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature, 1n presence of two witnesses.

LAVVRENGE Y. SPEAK.

' WVitnesses F. L. BRAKE, v A. E. MAR UARDT.

for liquid fuel for 

